Nail-feeding mechanism.



-IPATENTED APR. 11, 1905.

J. PERKINS. NAIL FEEDING MECHANISM. APPLI OATION FILED FEB, 20 19 4.

2 BHEETB-SHEET mvsmss,

PATENTED APR. 11, 1905.

r J. L. PERKINS. NAIL FEEDING MEcHANIsm I APPLICATION FILE FEB. 20.1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

fie. 786,835.

UNITED STATES Patented April 11,1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

JULIAN L. PERKINS, OF WEST SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

NAIL-FEEDING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 786,835, dated April11, 1905.

Application filed February 20, 1904:. Serial No. 194,611.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JULIAN L. PERKINS, a citizen of the United States,residing in West Springfield, inthe county of Hampden and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in.Nail-Feeding Mechanisms, of which the following is a specification.

, This invention relates to a nail-feeding mechanism to be used inconnection with a machine for drilling and nailing copper, zincetchings, and electrotype-plates to wooden blocks or metal bases, forwhich I have made application for Letters Patent under Serial No.181,214; on November 14:, 1903. In machines of this character it isdesirable that one nail after another be separated and fed at suitablepredetermined intervals to the nail box or guide which holds them inposition until they are driven by, the driving mechanism into the holeformed by the drilling mechanism. I

The object of this invention is to provide a, simple and practicalmechanism for separating one nail from a supply of others and thenconducting and guiding the so-separated nail, so as to be held inposition for being feeding operating-cam. Figs. 4 and 5 show a nail-tubeand positions of the operating-cam corresponding to those of thenail-feedingoperating-cam shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and Flg. 6 shows theseparating cam-block in section.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, 14: shows a supporting-standard at the top ofthe stand of my improved nailing and drilling-machine described in 'theapplication above referred The supporting-standard 14 is provided Withan overhanging end 143, on which slides a carrier, consistingfof a plate15, having a flanged edge .17, that overhangs the upper edge 18 of theoverhanging end 14; of the standard, and also having a correspondingflanged lower edge that overhangs the lower edge of the overhanging end14 of the standard, but not shown in the drawings. By these overhangingends thecarrier 1.5 is permitted to slide horizontally on the end 1 L.Any suitable means may be employed for causing the reciprocation of theplate 15, which means, forming no part of this invention, willnot bedescribed. The frame 14 is also provided with a vertical standard 16,which supports, by means of a bracket 12 at its upper end, a guide-tube51, provided at its upper side with a longitudinal slot 52 and to whichis pivotally connected at its upper end a supply-box 50, preferablytubular. and provided with a slot in its bottom portion in alinementwith the slottedportion of the tube 51. The supply-box is oscillated bya link 53, connected with a crank 54:, the latter rotating on a shortshaft 55, in turn rotated by any suitable means, as a pulley 23,suitably connected with any transmission means. The nails in thesupply-box fall by gravity into the guide-tube 51, and when they reachthe lower end of the guide-tube they are received by a forked extension'56 of the tube 51, that is arranged approximately horizontally.

The lower end of the guide-tube 51 is supported by a bracket 83, securedto a bracket 59, in turn fastened to the supporting-frame 14 of themachine. This bracket 59 supports also a journal-box 58, in whichoscillates a tubular separating-block 57. The block 57 has a bore 60,leading to a hook portion 61 at the top, by which when the block isoscillatedthe end nail will be separated from the rest supported by theguide-tube 51 and fed into the opening or bore of the block 57 inside ofthe hook, and thus carried down through the bore 60 of the block. .1

In order to oscillate the block 57 atthe proper time, it is providedwith an arm 63, secured to the lower end portion and having a pin 64. Abar 65, having abent portion at its lower end, is supported on the upperoverhanging part 17 of the carrier-plate and has a. cam-lug 66 arrangedto strike the pin 64 upon the carrier-plate being reciprocated, soas torock the block 57 from its normal position, as shown in Fig. 4, in whichposition it is yieldingly retained by a plate-spring 67, secured to thebracket 59 and engaging a pin 90 of the block 57 that projects through aslot 91 in the journal-box 58. The cam-bar 65 is so disposed on thecarrier-plate that its cam 66 will engage the pin 64 of the arm 63 atthe latter part of the movement of the carrier-plate to the left. Thecam-bar 65 is also given an endwise movement, so as to amplify themovement of the block 57 by the cam. To attain this, the lower bentportion 85 of the bar 65 is dovetailed, which portion slidably engages acorrespondingly-shaped channel in the top 17 of the carrier-plate. A bar68, guided in a box of the plate 15, is provided at its lower end with aroller 69, movable on the arm 47 of a bell-crank 40, which elbowlevercauses the upward movement of the bar 68. To provide for the returnmovement of the bar 68, a spring 96 is fastened at one end to anelongation 70 of the bar 68 and at the other end to the plate 15. (Notshown.) An irregular extension 71 of the bar 68 has adiagonal slot 7 2,Whose walls engage a bolt 73, secured to the bar 65. Thus it'will beseen that the rock of the bell-crank will, through the bar 68 and thebolt 73, cause a reciprocation horizontally of the cam-bar 65, andthereby oscillate the block 57 when its pin 64 is withinoperativeposition with relation to the cam 66. By imparting areciprocating motion to the cam-bar 65 in the slot in the carrier acomplete movement of the cam 66, and consequently of the block 57 isalways secured. In the first step of the movement the arm 47 of thebell-crank will, through the bar 68, move the bar 65 and give additionalmovement to the nail-feeding block 57 should the former movement of thesame not have been sufiicient to cause the nail to be fed.

Figs. 1 and 4 show the nail-block 57 in its normal position and showclearly the end nail supported by the horizontal forked extension 56 ofthe tube 51, resting against an abutmentface 62 of the block 57, whichabutment-face, in conjunction with the sides of the extension 56,prevents the nail from further advancing and the other nails fromfeeding downwardly. On slightly oscillating the block 57 clockwise itwill be seen from Fig. 5 that the hook 61 of the block 57 will passbetween the end nail and the adjacent nail of the forked extension orstrip 56 next above, thereby advancing the end nail, while the samemotion will move the abutment-face away from its former position,

thereby permitting the nail to enter the bore 60 of the block 57 andfall therethrough by gravity. The next nail on the strip 56 will beprevented from advancing by engaging the outer face of the hook 61. Uponthe block being rocked back to its former position as soon as thissucceeding nail is released from the outer face of the hook 61 it willadvance but a short distance until it will be prevented from doing so bythe abutment-face 62, which will arrest the nail, and also thesucceeding ones, until the next oscillation of the block. Thus at eachoscillation back and forth of the block one nail will be selected andfed into and through the bore of the block.

On the carrier-plate 15 is secured a guidetube 74, whose upper flaringend is in line and below the bore 60 in the block 57 when the carrier isat the limit of its left-hand position. When the carrier is-in thisposition, the operation of the nail-feeding device, above described,takes place and a nail is fed through a bore of the block. The nailpasses downwardly through the guide-tube 74 and is received by asuitable holder, which retains the nail in position until it is operatedupon by the driving mechanism. The driving mechanism forms no part ofthis invention and is therefore not described herein.

1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In anail-feeding mechanism, the combination with a support, a bracketcarried thereby, a nail-feeding strip supported by said bracket, anoscillating nail-selecting block beneath said strip, a carrier upon saidsupport provided with a reciprocating cam-bar for oscillating saidblock, a pin upon said bar, a reciprocating member associated with saidcarrier and having a slot engaging said pin, and means for actuatingsaid reciprocating member.

2. In a nail-feeding mechanism, the combination with a support, of abracket connected thereto, a nail-feeding strip supported by saidbracket, an oscillating nail-selecting block beneath said strip, areciprocating carrier upon said support, said carrier havinga transversedovetailed slot, a cam-bar on the carrier for oscillating said block,said ca1n-bar having an enlarged terminal portion slidable in saidtransverse slot, and means for reciprocating said cam-bar in the same.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JULIAN L. PERKINS.

Witnesses:

HENRY A. CHAPIN, K. I. CLEMoNs.

